Chapter Two: Distance

She splashed cold water over her face as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Now that's attractive," she quipped, as she examined the remainder of the smeared mascara on the left side of her face. Why hadn't she washed it off before she cried herself to sleep last night? She looked like a zombie now.

She took a warm cloth and washed away the rest of her makeup. She could still feel the weight of her broken heart, visible to the world in her vacant expression and swollen eyes. She wanted to hide from the world but she knew it wasn't realistic…she didn't have the luxury to not be okay. She had a job to do. People who counted on her.

She disrobed and stepped into the warm steam of a hot shower. Maybe she could forget those painful images of the way he used to look when he was standing right behind her. Not likely, she thought, as she closed her eyes and tried not to remember his soulful blue eyes.

His lips were on her neck as he slid his fingers through her wet hair under the faucet. "You taste good," he murmured as she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"How good," she teased, alternating her position until she was facing him…sliding her arms around his neck and letting her lips entice him to come closer. He smelled so good. Tasted even better.

"Indescribable," he said, their passion building as he devoured her lips with his own. "I'll have to show you."

"You do that," she joked, as they backed up against the wall, her legs twisting around him as they rode a wave of pleasure under the hot water.

She willed the memory away, as she let the water massage her muscles, his last words now ringing in her head like a broken record…Her mind shifted between memories of a time when they couldn't get enough of each other and those moments just before she left when he was so distant and hurtful. It was exhausting trying to keep up with his mood swings.

As much as she tried to hold it in, the tortured chaos in her brain and the sorrow in her heart opened up like a floodgate as she released the muffled scream, somewhere between a hollow cry and a piercing shriek. The tears cascaded down her cheeks without the slightest hint that they would stop, and she hit her knees, the aching sobs now battering against her chest as she curled up in a ball on the bottom of the shower.

She would be okay someday…just maybe not today.

Bo threw the file he had been looking at down on the desk and took a deep breath. He had been here all night since Nora left. Though he tried to sleep alone in their bed, he found himself waking often and reaching for her in the night only to find her gone. He finally gave up and headed to the office, coffee his only fuel.

"What do I have to do to get some competent help in here," Bo snapped. Hank was walking in the squad room with some coffee when he turned to one of the officers.

"He's been like that all morning," he said simply.

"I'll talk to him," Hank said. "You just get back to whatever you were doing. I'm sure he's just having a bad day."

They had all been privy to Bo's bad days. It was usually related to one thing in particular- or rather someone—his wife. Hank knew better than anyone what Nora's wrath felt like…he had once been married to her too.

He shut the door to Bo's office and set his coffee down on the desk. "Do you really think this is helping Bo? You have already taken everyone's head off and it doesn't look like you are any further along in this case then you already were yesterday…what gives? "

"I don't have time for this Hank. "

"Well make time. You cannot keep going on like this…you're going to burn out. "

"I'll be fine," he lied.

"Sure you will. That's why you have bags under your eyes and liquor on your breath. Tell me something Bo…Is fighting with Nora really worth all this?"

"I can't fight with her when she's not living in the house can I? Excuse me…I'm going to go check on my son."

Leave it to Bo to avoid any real discussion on how he was feeling…it was probably why Nora had left in the first place. If he knew anything at all about his ex-wife, it was that she needed to feel like she mattered to the man in her life. If she didn't feel wanted or needed, she would be gone… And once she was gone, it would take some major groveling for her to come back.

"You stupid, stupid fool, Hank muttered under his breath as he picked up the phone to call Nora. Someone needed to make sure she was taking care of herself.